


I'm up for it if you are

by Faelin



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-09
Updated: 2014-11-09
Packaged: 2018-02-24 15:59:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2587373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faelin/pseuds/Faelin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scott's been kidnapped by hunters and Stiles has been chasing them before he runs into a werewolf, Derek, that reluctantly helps him on his quest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'm up for it if you are

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aninsomniac](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aninsomniac/gifts).



> A very belated birthday gift for QueenDirtbag.  
> I hope you enjoy it~

Stiles never thought he'd miss doing lacrosse so much in his life. Sure, it wasn't like he got to play often, but at least he stayed fit from all the practices he had to participate in. It's been years since he'd so much as held a crosse and he deeply regrets not at least trying to stay fit. He wasn't unhealthy, but being chased down multiple streets by people who are out to get him (he doesn't know if they want to kill him, capture him, or just beat him down), really makes him wish he didn't turn down that gym membership.

His legs were burning and starting to feel a little wobbly as he pushed himself forward. The hunters behind him didn't seem to be as tired as he was and he knew it was only a matter of time before they caught up. The thought only made him try to run faster, but his body wouldn't let him, too exhausted to go much further.

He was about to call it quits on the escape plan and stand and fight as well as he could when he felt himself yanked by the arm into an alley. His back was slammed into the brick wall behind him while a hand gripped his shirt tightly and a clawed hand went to his throat. There wasn't enough pressure to do any damage, they'd probably only leave indents when the guy let go, but the intent that he could do worse was there.

And it was definitely a guy who was holding him there. Between gasped breaths and eyes starting to fall shut from exertion he managed to see the stubble and bright blue eyes bore into his face, searching for something, before the guy pulled him forward a bit and slammed him back against the wall. He didn't think he was trying to threaten him, but he probably noticed that Stiles was practically dead on his feet.

"What are you? You don't smell human." He finally growled out when Stiles' panting gasps had lessened. He still wasn't anywhere close to getting his energy back, but he had enough in him now to talk without gasping between each word. 

"I'm human, I swear! I'll explain more later, but right now a bunch of hunters are after me and I need your help to lose them." He figured this guy didn't want anything to do with hunters either, the glowing blue eyes he had definitely said that he was some kind of supernatural creature. Stiles watched him tilt his head a little, probably trying to confirm Stiles' words, and it looked like his story checked him because his scowl deepened, but he was scowling at the shouts and pounding steps of the hunters coming this way instead of Stiles.

When his gaze returned to Stiles he looked him over, probably trying to assess a plan to get them out of there, but Stiles knew he couldn't move more than a few steps. Even with the guy's hand clenched tightly into his shirt and the hand at his throat he was still started to sag against the wall, legs feeling like jelly and starting to give out on him. He saw the mans’ gaze linger on the ripped part of his sleeve. He couldn't explain the long dark grey tendrils he saw there, not yet.

The hunters apparently weren't as dumb as they looked because they rounded the corner to the alley, spotted them immediately, and trapped them inside. There was a brick wall behind the pair and their only exit was blocked.

Stiles knew that blue eyes meant killing an innocent so the guy who had him pressed against the wall, who had quickly moved so he was in between Stiles and the hunters, might be a skilled fighter. Werewolf claws and fangs were deadly even when they weren't attached to skilled fighter. They would definitely have a chance of Stiles wasn't clinging to consciousness like a cell phone with 1% battery life left.

The hunters definitely weren't expecting to see Stiles with a werewolf when they rounded the corner though. As soon as they saw the glowing eyes glaring angrily at them they took a step back. They must have left their wolfsbane bullets and stun rods back at their hidey hole because it only took a few worried and anxious glances between each other before they turned tail and ran as a group.

Stiles felt the relief coursing through his body as he shut his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall. He knew he was going to have to the guy answers about what had just happened, but after Stiles opened his eyes again he noticed blackness started appear around the edges of his vision. The guys’ scowling face turned to one of confusion and worry as Stiles sagged further down the wall. He could barely feel the guy shaking him, trying to wake up him up, before he passed out completely.

\--

He didn't know how long he'd been out when he started waking up, but he did know that whatever he was lying on was really comfortable so he figured he wasn’t anywhere dangerous. Everything came back slow so it took a while for Stiles to notice the headache that he'd received from all the exercise he got while he was running for his life.

He went to put a hand on his aching head but paused halfway there. He knew that one of the hunters had nicked his arm with some kind of knife; his jacket had a hole in it now but the cut itself was so shallow that it had barely bled, although all the running and making his blood pump faster probably hadn’t helped. His arm was now bandaged so whoever owns where ever he is now must have seen his tattoos. Fuck, he didn't really feel like explaining those. He always got mixed reactions when he tells anyone that he has magic.

He closed his eyes against the pain in his head as he sat himself up, opening them again when the pounding dulled to something manageable, and cast his eyes around the room. There was nothing really in it to say who lived here, no photos of family, friends, or of themselves, but he guessed that the guy from last night probably took him home after he passed out on him. He should probably apologize for that whenever he showed his face again.

Swinging his legs over the couch, making sure to keep a hand on the arm of it to keep himself steady, he got to his feet and started poking into the room in the apartment. It wasn't a big place, and it didn't have a lot of personal possessions, but it had everything to keep a place functional. A kitchen, furniture, utensils, even some food in the fridge when his rumbling stomach made an appearance.

It wasn't until sometime later when he was sprawled out on the couch and munching on a granola bar he had found stuffed into the back of one of the shelves in the kitchen that he heard the front door open. He quickly stuffed the rest of the bar into his mouth and righted himself before the guy came in.

The guy didn't so much as pause when he walked into the apartment, instead he ignored Stiles completely and dropped off the bags he was carrying into the kitchen. Not really knowing what to do, Stiles followed him. It was silent as the man was putting the groceries away. The man, Stiles kept calling him that in his head. "Hey, what's your name? I didn't really get a chance to ask last night." He saw the guy's shoulders tense up at the mention of last night so he added, "Sorry about that by the way. I didn't mean to get you involved."

It took a while for him to respond. He silently started putting away some of the groceries for a few moments before a hesitant grumble of, "Derek." Came out of the werewolf's mouth. Stiles knew that they weren't really in the best of positions right now, with hunters coming after Stiles and now after Derek because they happened to be caught in an alleyway together. Now that that sentence had gone through his mind, it sounded like something totally different happened between them. He gave Derek a subtle once-over when his back was facing toward Stiles as he was putting away something in a cupboard and Stiles figured that having that different thing happen would be totally okay with him.

Quickly shaking those kind of thoughts out of his head, knowing that werewolves could smell that kind of shit and not wanting to give this guy the satisfaction of knowing Stiles was into his body, he found himself still staring at Derek's shoulders when he replied, "My name's Stiles, in case you were wondering. You don't really feel like you are considering you haven't looked at me since you step foot into your apartment." He paused to see if the guy would acknowledge any of what Stiles had said. "Okay.. so you're not much of a talker, I see that now."

He finally heard a sigh come from Derek's mouth before he turned around and looked at Stiles. When he did he noticed that they were maybe a bit too close for complete strangers to stand next to each other, Stiles took a step back. They were about the same height, but the muscles in his arms that were currently crossed over his chest told Stiles that even if he wasn't a werewolf, this guy could definitely take him in a fight. Derek's gaze was calculating as he searched Stiles' face. Stiles didn't know what he was trying to figure out, but he apparently passed the test because Derek asked, "What did you get me involved in anyway? There haven't been hunters here for years, that's why I chose to live here. Why were you they chasing you?"

Stiles' hand found its way into his hair in an instinctual stress move when he was reminded of why he was here. "Okay well, first things first. Before I can explain that I need to explain what I am. Apparently I have a Spark inside me that lets me do feats of magic. It's rare, or so I'm told, but I can't really do anything too crazy."

Derek's eyebrow had gone up in disbelief as soon as the word 'magic' came out of his mouth. "Really? Magic? That's what you're going with?"

Okay yeah, Stiles gets that even though supernatural creatures exist it's usually hard for people to believe that he has magic. With a roll of his eyes, Stiles presses his hand onto his jacket and screws his eyes shut in concentration. He felt the usual warmth he felt when he summoned his spark and his eyes opened early enough to catch the werewolf's surprise when Stiles' jacket changed from blue to red.

"Like I said, I can't do much and it usually tires me out, but yeah. Magic." Stiles couldn't resist doing jazz hands when he finished his sentence. 

By now Derek had his emotions under control again and his face was back to its blankness from earlier. "So hunters chased you out here because you have magic? You're not even that powerful. They usually just go after werewolves. What'd you do to piss them off?"

They both apparently thought standing was too cool so they leaned against the counters of the kitchen while Stiles told the story of why he was in the city. "So my best buddy, Scotty, he's a werewolf. Super rare one at that, he's a true alpha." Stiles noticed the guy's eyebrows shoot up in surprise and maybe a little disbelief, but Stiles put his hand up before he asked any questions. "There will be time for questions at the end of story. Please be patient." Derek scoffed at the childishness of the statement but acquiesced. "We've had hunters living in our town for years, the Argents, and they've never caused us trouble. They've actually helped more than a few times whenever something bad came our way or warned us when other hunters wanted to pop in and see about this true alpha. Everything was going fine until they warned us too late and some hunters managed to drug Scott with some kind of wolfsbane and kidnapped him. I managed to track the hunters this far without them noticing me, but it looks like that's over. They caught onto me and tried to chase me down and that's when you showed up. Thanks for that again, by the way. Even though it was unintentional I appreciate you scaring them off."

Derek's face had a pronounced scowl ever since Stiles had mentioned the Argents and it didn't go away when story time was over. Stiles was about to ask if something was wrong when Derek said, "Do you know where the hunters are now?"

Stiles shrugged. "I mean, I know the last motel they stayed at, but I don't know if they've moved since they've discovered that I've been following them. They're pretty stupid if they don't move to be honest."

"Take me to the motel. I can probably sniff them out and track them down to their new place." Derek's face was nowhere near relaxed, but he seemed to gotten over whatever Stiles had said that had upset him so much, that or he just ignored it for now like Stiles tends to do with problems.

"Really? You'd do that for me? Not that I'm saying no to his plan, but why help me? We literally just met and helping me will probably only make you a target for the hunters too." 

It was Derek's turn to shrug this time. "I've got nothing else to do and you seem to the need the help. Why not?"

Stiles was not the one to look a gift horse in the mouth so he happily clapped his hand on the guys shoulder and said, "Dude thank you so much, this means a lot." He quickly removed his hand when the guy glared at the offending appendage, but that was not going to sour his mood. "Are you ready to go now? It's probably best to go as soon as possible before their foul stench leaves whatever motel room they used."

Derek nodded in answer before grabbing his phone and keys off the counter and heading out of the kitchen. Stiles quickly followed him out the door and down the steps before pausing midstep. "Dude! That is a sweet car you have there."

"I know." Was all he got in response and Stiles couldn't even be mad. If he had a car as nice as this Camaro he'd probably be more of a dick too.

Stiles slid into the passenger seat, handing skimming over the nice leather seat inside and already mourning the loss of them for when he’d inevitably have to leave it.

After Derek saw that Stiles had clicked his seatbelt he turned that amazing sounding engine before pulling out of the parking lot. Stiles gave him directions whenever Derek lost their scent on the wind.

The ride was surprisingly short, not that Stiles was counting the minutes, but he definitely wished he could have sit in the Camaro longer. The parking lot didn’t have a lot of cars parked in it, but Derek’s werewolf nose could easily pick out the scent of the hunters. There wasn’t a car parked outside their motel room and Derek couldn’t hear any heartbeats inside so they decided it was safe to enter.

The room was a mess. It was like a tornado had formed and only stayed inside the room before disappearing. Paper was strewn everywhere and clothes were haphazardly tossed into every nook and cranny. The hunters themselves were nowhere to be found; probably off searching for another place to hole up while they searched for Stiles.

Stiles sat down dejectedly on one of the beds, head bowed with his hands running through his hair. This was the only lead he had and it looks like a waste of time. They had to know by now that Stiles wouldn’t stop chasing after Scott so leaving him alone wouldn’t be smart of them to do.

He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he didn’t notice Derek gently sitting down on the bed next to him. Derek’s arm came up like he was about to run a soothing had down his back, but thought against it and rested it back on the bed behind him. “We’ll get them. I’ve still got their scent so they shouldn’t be hard to track.” When Stiles didn’t give any indication of having heard a word Derek said he continued with, “Wow, didn’t really peg you as someone who gives up so easily.”

Stiles’s head snapped up at Derek’s sentence. He didn’t even have the energy to yell. “Do you know how long I’ve been tracking these guys? Two months. Two months of fast food dinners that I’m starting to not be able to afford anymore, two months of trying to be a step ahead of hunters that I know next to nothing about, two months of not knowing if my best friend is even alive or not. So excuse me if a dead end doesn’t upset me right now.”

Derek’s face looked like he’d just been slapped, which considering he’s a werewolf probably doesn’t happen that often. He opened his mouth after a brief pause to apologize for speaking without looking at things from Stiles’s point of view, but was interrupted as the front door of the motel room burst open and the group of missing hunters barged in. Neither Stiles nor Derek had any time to react before there was a sharp sting in their necks and the world around them got wobbly. Derek tried to jump off the bed and attack the hunters but only ended up faceplanting into the floor. He heard a soft thud that was most likely Stiles falling backwards onto the bed before he blacked out.

~

Coming to was slow. He couldn’t really feel his fingers and it took a moment for Stiles to realize why. His arms were tied in front of him, but there was also something else in front of him. Stiles groaned into the neck that he was facing and resisted the urge to repeatedly whack his face into the leather clad shoulder.

“So you’re finally awake, I take it?” Stiles only groaned in response before opening his eyes and looking at their situation. They were both sitting in chair with Derek sitting between Stiles’ legs. Stiles had his hands tied in front of Derek while Derek’s hands were tied backwards so that they ended up pressing into Stiles’ arms. He doubted Derek’s hands could reach all the way behind Stiles in this position so they were probably just bent backwards as far as they could go. Stiles doubted that it was in any way comfortable to have their arms bent backwards like that without relief. 

When Stiles started shifting to get a better look at their surroundings he felt Derek take a deep breath and tense in front of him before he felt like lightning was coursing through his entire body. Hegrit his teeth and his joints locked up because he didn’t have any idea how to handle being electrocuted while being tied to someone who was also being electrocuted. He didn’t know how long it went on for, but when it finally ended he slumped forward. He felt Derek tense up again before loosening when nothing happened.

“Moving turned the machine on behind us. Please, for the love of God, do not move again.” Stiles wasn’t complaining much about having his cheek smooshed up against Derek’s shoulder, but his legs were starting to get restless. It’d probably been a while since he last had his Adderall and he needed to move around; do something! Sitting motionless in this chair with Derek was going to drive him insane, but he definitely didn’t want to be the cause of another electrocution. 

His arms starting slipping of their own accord, not able to keep their position up around Derek’s chest level, so they ended up at Derek’s crotch. Really though Derek should ignore that because Stiles can feel that Derek’s arms are slipping too, no matter how many times he keeps minutely adjusting them so that they stay up. It seems like only big movements trigger the machine which explains why Stiles’s arms slowly moving downward hadn’t brought punishment.

As he began to try to think of their situation and a way to get out of it, Stiles’s foot started unconsciously tapping against the concrete floor.

“Can you stop rubbing your thigh against my leg? I’m busy trying to figure out a way out of this mess.”

Stiles scoffed. “Sorry, am I distracting you? Because I was right in the middle of forming a plan to get us both out of here when you so rudely interrupted my train of thought.”

“Yes, you are distracting me so please stop moving your goddamned leg before we both get shot up with electricity again!”

Derek’s voice was almost a yell by the end, but Stiles was more focused on the first part. If Derek chose just then to admit that Stiles is attractive then he has terrible timing. In truth, Stiles didn’t have any sort of plan concocted when Derek started talking so he had nothing else to do but go along with his theory about Derek admitting he was attractive. His butt was starting to feel numb anyway on the wooden chair they were seated in so he adjusted himself by scooting slightly forward, bringing his junk that much closer to Derek’s jean clad ass.

“Stiles, I swear to god if you don’t stop-“

“Hey! My butt was numb and I had to readjust! It’s not my fault they seated us in this particular way. Why did they do it this way anyway? It seems like an odd way to tie people up.”

“Maybe they only had enough rope for one of us so they tied us together.” Derek replied while looking glumly down at the rope that was binding their torsos together.

“Maybe…” said Stiles, mind elsewhere. Them lamenting over the weirdness of the kidnapping had reminded Stiles that he was also weird. Weird like magic. Not powerful magic obviously, but maybe magic enough to get them out of here.

“Hey Derek, are the hunters nearby?” asked Stiles.

Derek’s head swiveled minutely while he tried to hear for anything and tried to scent the hunters. Coming up with nothing, he shook his head at Stiles’s question.

“Okay, second question. How are you with heat?”

He could feel Derek tense up, but instead of answering he asked, “What do you have in mind?”

“Well, I’m magic, right? I could try to burn the ropes around us and then we can quickly detach ourselves from the pain machine.”

Derek seemed to ponder it for a minute before he let out a sigh and his tense shoulders rolled a bit in an attempt to relax them. “Fine. Go ahead.”

“Alright, cool.” Said Stiles, mostly to himself. He placed his bound hands in a small space on the ropes around Derek’s chest and shut his eyes in concentration. He felt the same warmth from earlier, and now it travelled to the outer edges of his hand. He could hear Derek’s breath pick up and figured it was probably too much heat. He grasped a few of the winding ropes so that the heat wasn’t going towards Derek and renewed his concentration. He could feel a headache forming, and a nasty one at that, but he knew he was close.

Soon he felt his hands grew hot enough where the rope snapped, both ends of is sizzling as their constraints pooled loosely at their hips. Next he grabbed the ropes tying his wrists together and soon those joined the first. Now he was stuck though. He’d have to move behind him to reach Derek’s hands and that could make the machine start up again.

In retrospect, it probably wasn’t the best plan and he really should have gone over it with Derek first, but fuck it. Before Derek could say anything after Stiles was freed, Stiles quickly reached behind him and grabbed the wired connected to Derek’s hands. The electricity that shot through him was bad, it definitely felt worse than the first time, but at least Stiles had managed to disconnect them from the machine itself. 

He quickly burned the ropes around Derek’s wrist and resolutely ignored the red and raw skin that covered his own wrists. Derek’s injuries were healing quickly and now they could finally stand up. They both stood and stretched out their disused muscles before Derek started for a door that was most likely the exit.

The sun blinding them a bit at first, but the warehouse they were trapped in hadn’t been that dark since it was daytime out now.

As Stiles was still blinking at the sudden sunshine, Derek roughly grabbed his bicep and turned him towards the wolf. “Don’t you ever do that again. You hear me? Talk to me so that we both don’t get electrocuted.” Ignoring the ‘again’ part for now, Stiles just nodded and knew that if he was kidnapped again then he’d do what it took to free himself and survive. Besides, he doubted Derek would still want him around for long after this fiasco.

“Do you know where we are? I haven’t been in this city long and I’ve never been here before.” He glanced over at Derek and saw his head tipped slightly backward, nose scenting the air and now pointed ears trying to listen. 

“There’s a road a little ways that way.” Said Derek with a lazy gesture of his arm in front of them. “We can walk there and get our bearings.” Derek patted down his pockets before deeply sighing. “They took our phones so we can’t call for help.”

Stiles did a quick pat-down of his own pockets to confirm that yes, his phone had been taken as well. Thankfully the hunters hadn’t taken his wallet, probably figured he wasn’t going to be alive long enough to need it. 

Wait, the hunters. Where had they gone? Why would they leave their two hostages alone? He voiced his concerns to Derek and only got a disgruntled frown in return before setting off towards the road at a quick pace. 

It wasn’t long before they heard an occasional car driving so they were closer to the road than they first thought. Once they reached it, Derek still didn’t have a clue where they were or even if they were in the same city, so they picked one direction and continued walking. 

The silence was starting to get to Stiles; not that it was an uncomfortable silence, no, but they had just been kidnapped and his body was all amped up with adrenaline. Anything could jump out of the trees around them and even though Derek’s heightened senses would most likely give them a warning before that happened, Stiles didn’t have a way to protect himself like Derek did.

Well, the best way to deal with a problem is definitely to ignore it and focus on something else. That something else being that Derek found Stiles attractive. 

“So, Derek.” Stiles heard the man sigh and bite out a short ‘What.’ Not even as a question, he said it as a statement. Man of few words. “So, am I still distracting when we’re not awkwardly tied together by asshole hunters?”

“No.” Okay, Stiles may not be able to tell if someone is lying by listening to their heartbeat, but he’s pretty sure Derek just tensed up even more (if that was even possible) when he answered Stiles.

Stiles hummed noncommittally in response and Derek side-eyed him. Stiles knew that Derek knew that Stiles didn’t believe his answer, but talking this out in the middle of a forest while having just escaped hunters may not be the best time. Emotions running high and all that jazz.

They’d been walking in silence for a few hours before they hit an intersection. It wasn’t the busiest one ever, but it was a welcome relief into civilization.

“Know where we are yet?” Stiles asked. 

Derek nodded slightly before looking around a bit and walking towards the right. There was a small diner that Stiles saw in that direction that reminded his stomach that he hadn’t eaten in hours now. 

“Can we stop at the diner before we go anywhere?” Derek was about to reply when Stiles’s stomach thought it was a good time to speak up and let out a loud growl. The werewolf nodded his head and they soon found themselves seated at a table and ordering their drinks.

Stiles already knew that he was getting a burger and some cheesy fries because the place didn’t have curly fries so when they waiter came back he ordered that and Derek got a steak and didn’t comment on Stiles’s cheesy fries.

The wait only had little bits of conversation going at a time and when their food arrived they grew silent. Their hunger winning out over needing to plan out what they should do next. They knew by now that Derek couldn’t just leave. The hunters kidnapping Derek meant that they thought Derek and Stiles were together; not like together like dating though, together like working together to free Derek. Funny that them thinking that lead to them actually working together.

Once they slowed down and got to the end of their meals, they got to work ironing out a plan. The two of them would go back to the motel (armed and alert for the hunters this time) and Derek would sniff out their trail and lead them to the hunter’s new hideout. When they got there, they’d scope the place out, find any weak points or any way to ambush them. If they felt like they were prepared, they’d jump in and take them down. If they have to then they’d kill some of them, but they needed at least one alive so they can tell the duo where Scott is. The plan definitely had a few holes in it, but Stiles was starting to get nervous for Scott’s sake. They’ve had him for so long and now that they know that they’re being tailed they might just cut it and run. Stiles couldn’t risk Scott being with them any longer.

Derek seemed to pick up on Stiles’s anxiousness, but didn’t comment on it. There was nothing they could do about the situation besides try their hardest.

Their plates had been long abandoned and the waiter kept coming back to their table to see if they were ready to leave yet so Stiles paid the bill (Derek kept insisting that he would pay for himself but Stiles felt bad about dragging him into this and Derek eventually relented, if only to finally get Stiles to shut up) and started their trek back to Derek’s place.

Turns out they weren’t as far away as they had originally feared; a couple of hours and they were turning onto Derek’s street and Stiles could have cried from happiness. All of his muscles were aching and his brain turned off an hour ago. Walking as much as he had today plus the magic he did to get them out of their ropes had seriously tired him out. He knew that they needed to get to the hunters as soon as possible, but he also knew that he’d be more of a nuisance than a help if they went right now.

Stiles flopped onto the couch and was out like a light. Derek stared at him silently for a moment before heading into his own room to change and rest up for the next day.

~

The mood was subdued the next morning. They’d both gotten up early in anticipation for the today’s events. Stiles definitely could have slept for a few more hours, but he couldn’t keep his body still for the life of him. His fingers were constantly tapping on something or his knee was jiggling as his leg wouldn’t stop moving. When he finally caught himself biting his nails out of nervousness he decided to go take a shower. It was something to do at least while Derek made their breakfast.

He quickly scrubbed himself down in the shower and used Derek’s products before drying himself off. When he stepped out he glanced at his pile of dirty clothes that he’d been wearing for the past 2 days and decided that he really didn’t want to get back in them right now. He wrapped a towel around his waist and stood in the entryway to the kitchen area. The food smelled like Heaven and he almost said ‘god I love you’ before realizing that that might be a weird thing to say to someone he just met, even if they did save your life. It’s not his fault though; the fastest way to a man’s heart is his stomach after all. He asked Derek if it was okay to borrow a t-shirt and some pants and Derek looked over and quickly looked back down at the food before nodding. He quickly grabbed a pair of jeans that were probably small on Derek, but would suit him just fine and a red Henley with thumbholes in the sleeves from Derek’s room and quickly changed into them.

When he re-entered the kitchen he saw two plates sitting on the table and Derek was by the fridge filling up a couple of glasses with orange juice. Stiles sat down at the table in front of one the plates and began to dig in. Derek placed the two glasses in front of the plates before sitting down across from Stiles and began wolfing down his own breakfast.

“So, where’d you get your tattoo?” Derek asked in-between forkfuls of scrambled eggs.

Stiles swallowed what was in his mouth and ran a hand over the back of his neck, unconsciously rubbing over the trunk of the tree that went into his hairline. 

“Uhh, I didn’t get it from anywhere. It actually just kind of…appeared there one day.” Stiles admitted.

Derek’s eyebrow rose in confusion. “Your tattoo just suddenly appeared on your body? Without you knowing?”

“Yeah, it started a little before I discovered that I had magic. According to Deaton, my magic teacher I guess you could call him, the tattoo is linked with my magic. The stronger I get and the more I practice the more it grows.” Stiles’ tattoo was an upside down tree without any leaves on it. The trunk came out of the base of his hairline before the branches started growing outwards on his back. The branches had started going onto his arms so he usually wore a jacket to hide them; Derek must have seen the tree after Stiles asked to borrow some clothes, plus when he’d bandaged Stiles’s arm after their first encounter with the hunters.

“I thought you said you weren’t that powerful? The tree’s limbs go down to your arms.”

“Yeah, I don’t really know. I still struggle with a lot of magic stuff and I’ve never been able to do anything really big, but the tree keeps growing anyway.” Stiles said in reply. “I just hope that I can find a spell one day to hide it so I don’t have to wear layers in the summer.”

Derek hummed in agreement before taking his now-empty plate to the sink. Stiles did the same and helped rinse them both out before putting them in the dishwasher. 

Knowing that there was nothing else for them to do, they both went to go prepare for their plan today.

With their shoes on, clothes they didn’t care if they got ruined (Stiles made sure it was okay with Derek considering these are his clothes), and a knife that Stiles magically stuck to his back, they headed out the door and to Derek’s Camaro.

The drive to motel was short and Derek got quickly to finding the scent. It was not as pungent as the previous day, but it was enough to get them going. They drove around the city, Derek making adjustments in their course whenever the scent got too faint.

When the scent finally got strong enough to say that it was recent enough to tell that they’d been there today, the pair found themselves in an incomplete housing development. The hunters must be squatting in one of the finished or nearly finished houses inside. Derek parked the car down the street a little ways away so no one would get suspicious.

They crept their way through the houses, hiding behind whatever was closest whenever a noise sounded and soon Derek put a hand to Stiles’ chest to stop him when they reached a house that looked no different than any of the others.

“I’m guessing this is where they’re holed up then?” Stiles whispered.

Derek nodded in agreement before crouching behind a bush and slowly circling the house. It seemed like a normal house from the outside. Looking through the windows mostly just showed them empty rooms. Stiles didn’t doubt Derek’s senses though so the hunters had to be here. Maybe they had left for food or something?

“Is there anyone in there?” Stiles asked.

“I hear two heartbeats. I can’t tell who they are, but I do smell another werewolf. One of them might be your friend, but I can’t be sure.” Derek answered, eyes never leaving the house in front of them.

“Okay. Alright, how are we going to do this then? Just get in there and take the one or two people out? Between the two of us and with the element of surprise on our side I think it’d be pretty easy to take them down.”

Derek silently nodded to Stiles’ plan and then they both started towards the house. The heartbeats were coming from downward which meant there was probably a basement in the house so going in through the front door didn’t seem like a bad idea.

They entered without incident and split up to scout the inside to make sure there were no surprises waiting for them. The stuff that did litter the rooms was all packed up like the hunters planned on leaving soon. Looks like Stiles’ theory was right.

When they were done sweeping the rooms they met up by the door to the basement. The plan was pretty simple; Stiles would use magic to make a bright light go off down there (they’d tested it earlier and it definitely works) and then Derek would charge in while the two people down there were blinded.

Stiles silently counted down to three with his fingers and opened the door with one hand while the other stretched inside with his hand aimed down the stairs. He let off of a quick flash of light when he saw that Derek had turned away before tapping Derek’s shoulder to indicate that it was done and he should go down now.

He shrugged off the slight fatigue from the use of his magic and followed Derek down the stairs as quickly as he could. He had a hunter pressed against the wall by his throat, the hunter’s weapon abandoned on the ground a few feet away. Stiles quickly picked that up in case he needed it for protection before circling on the spot to scan the room. It was then that he noticed someone chained to the wall across from them.

Even though he hasn’t seen his best friend in two months he recognized that crooked jaw anywhere, even if it was slumped against his chest.

He quickly slung the gun over his back before rushing over his best friend and took his head in hands. “Scott. Scotty? Wake up, buddy. It’s me, Stiles! I’ve come to get you out of here, or we have anyway ; Derek’s also here. You don’t know him, but he’s a werewolf too. C’mon Scott, wake up!” Stiles had started to panic when there was no change in Scott’s face. You’d think that with a giant flash of light and ruckus of Derek attacking Scott’s captor that he’d be roused from his sleep, but Scott still looked dead to the world.

Stiles could feel the tears starting to run down his face, but god damn it took two months to find his friend! Two months of sitting in his shitty jeep and buying fast food while he kept as close of an eye on the hunters as he could and it looks like he was too late to save him. The rise and fall of Scott’s chest was incredibly shallow that you had to actually pay attention to it to notice that it was even moving.

He could hear Derek shift behind him, but Stiles couldn’t handle facing him right now. He pressed his forehead against Scott’s and readjusted his hands on Scott’s face before attempting to tap into his Spark. He didn’t know what he was doing or if it was even possible to do anything, but he was going to fucking try.

Stiles’ muscles started to ache really quickly and he was having a hard time staying upright on his feet the longer it went on, but he suddenly heard a quick intake of breath before Scott’s forehead was moving away from his. 

Scott opened his mouth as if to talk, but only a croak came out. Stiles’ eyes were starting to feel heavy, but he managed to stay awake long enough to hear a weak, “Stiles?” come out of Scott’s mouth before the darkness at the edges of his vision finally took over and he slumped to the concrete floor.

~

When Stiles first started coming to the first thing he heard was idle chatter going on in the background. That was certainly different from the quiet he was used to during the past two months. He opened his eyes and saw the familiar popcorn ceiling of Derek’s apartment. Derek must have heard his heartbeat pick up or something because soon enough the werewolf’s face was blocking his view of the ceiling.

“Derek? What happened? Did we get Scott?” His words came out mumbled, like a drowsy drunk person might have said them.

Scott’s head popped in next to Derek’s and he said, “Yeah, I’m right here buddy. How are you feeling?”

“How am _I_ feeling? Dude, you’re the one that’s been taken by hunters for the past two months. Are you alright?” Stiles attempted to sit up by pushing himself up with his arms but they felt like noodles and Stiles barely got an inch off the bed he was on before crashing back onto it with a groan.

“I’m fine. Nothing they did to me had…lasting effects, except for maybe some nightmares that’ll take a while to get rid of, but we thought you died, dude. You passed out onto the floor after healing me enough to wake me up and neither of us could wake you up. It’s been two days and Derek hasn’t slept yet.” Stiles tried to take in all that at once before his eyes went to Derek, who was conveniently looking at Stiles’ arm now instead of his face.

“Aww, nice to know I’ve grown on you so quickly Sourwolf.” Even incredibly tired and sore, Stiles couldn’t help being a dick.

Ignoring that, and especially the nickname, Derek wrapped his fingers delicately around Stiles’ wrist and brought it into his line of sight. “I think you’re going to have to keep wearing layers in summer.” Stiles was still wearing the Henley with the thumbholes, but the sleeves had been pushed back to the elbows and showed off the lengthened branches of the tree. While it had barely reached his bicep before, now the tendrils were just barely passed his wrists.

Stiles groaned. “Are you kidding me? I’m going to have to keep this shirt now or else everyone will see this now.”

“I don’t mind.” Derek said softly, eyes still avoiding Stiles’.

“Really? Because I wasn’t lying about keeping it, it is pretty comfy.” A small smile had found its way to Stiles’ face and he couldn’t be damned to hide it. Derek could be adorable when he didn’t wear his neutral mask.

Scott’s eyes curiously swept between the pair before he said, “That’s just like you, Stiles. Go on a mission to find your best friend and get a boyfriend instead.” Scott smiled at the incredulous faces that both Stiles and Derek had because boyfriends? What? They barely knew each other. Just harmless flirting with the guy that helped you save your best friend even though you know nothing about them. Eh, Stiles had heard of worse getting together stories in movies.

Stiles looked back at Derek to see that Derek was finally looking back at him and said, “I’m up for it if you are big guy.”

There was a barely there smile on Derek’s face, but the nod that he got in return made Stiles want to punch the air in celebration at bagging a hot werewolf boyfriend that’s a really nice guy if the action wouldn’t possibly end up with Stiles slapping himself in the face since his limbs still had the consistency of a wet noodle. 

“Once you get some more rest then we can start heading back home. How’s my mom doing? I’ve missed her so much man.” Scott’s face was all brightness and smiles and Stiles couldn’t be any more happier with his life right now. He had his best friend back and Derek had taken to holding onto Stiles’s hand with his own. 

They could deal with the other hunters later. Right now Stiles was just going to sleep in what he figured to be Derek’s bed and then tomorrow he’d test if Derek’s lips are kissable as they look.

**Author's Note:**

> My [Tumblr.](http://hellyeahhale.tumblr.com/)


End file.
